Caitlyn Robertson conducted a 90-day study on a young woman named Madison to understand how working out affects mood and energy levels. She worked out with Madison three times a week, recording calories burned and how Madison felt afterward. Initially Madison reported being tired and depressed, but over the course of the study began feeling happier with more energy on non-workout days. Robertson concluded that regular exercise can transform someone who feels tired and depressed into a happier, more energetic person.

1. There
are
58
million
people
in
America
over-­‐weight;
40
million
people
obese,
and
3
million
morbidly
obese.
Hi,
my
name
is
Caitlyn
Robertson
and
for
my
senior
project,
I
studied
how
working
out
affects
the
brain.
As
a
little
girl,
I
watched
my
mom
and
dad
constantly
work
out.
One
day
I
asked
them
why
they
loved
to
work
out
so
much
and
both
of
my
parents
responded
with
“it
makes
us
happy
and
fit”.
Now,
as
a
little
girl
I
thought
to
myself
“how
on
earth
does
running
or
lifting
weights
make
you
happy?”
that
has
always
been
the
question
I
have
asked
myself
until
this
year.
For
my
product,
I
did
a
study
on
a
young
woman
named
Madison
for
90
days.
Three
times
a
week,
her
and
I
would
go
to
the
gym
and
I
would
give
her
a
workout
to
do.
The
workout
would
usually
last
about
an
hour
followed
by
stretching.
I
would
record
how
many
calories
she
would
burn,
and
how
she
felt
after
the
workout.
The
usual
response
I
would
receive
is
that
she
was
tired
and
wanted
to
go
to
sleep.
I
would
give
her
body
a
day
to
rest
in
between
each
workout.
The
next
day
I
would
call
her
and
ask
her
how
she
felt.
She
would
answer
with
positive
feedback.
She
said
that
she
“had
more
energy
and
wasn’t
tired
at
all
and
seemed
like
a
happier
person”.
Over
the
course
of
90
days,
I
have
taken
a
young
woman
and
transformed
her
from
someone
who
was
depressed
and
tired
all
the
time,
to
someone
who
is
full
of
energy
and
is
a
happier
person.
Over
the
90
day
time
period,
my
project
facilitator,
Stephanie
Maxim,
was
a
huge
help!
Anytime
I
had
a
question
about
a
certain
workout
she
would
be
there
for
me.

2. Stephanie
has
been
a
health
advisor
and
personal
trainer
for
over
10
years.
I
do
believe
that
I
needed
some
guidance
during
this
project
because
I
faced
many
obstacles
along
the
way.
Some
of
the
obstacles
I
faced
dealt
with
a
variety
of
problems.
I
dealt
with
the
client’s
health
issues,
all
the
way
to
working
a
Power
Point.
One
of
the
biggest
obstacles
I
faced
was
Madison’s
health
problems.
Since
Madison
was
a
little
over
weight,
she
had
problems
with
her
knees.
She
would
constantly
had
to
stop
because
of
the
pain
she
was
feeling.
That
slowed
down
the
workout
process
and
sometimes
prolonged
it.
Another
problem
I
faced
was
my
poster
board.
I
originally
had
the
idea
of
making
a
poster
board
with
all
the
charts
and
diagrams
until
sadly,
I
spilled
coffee
all
over
it.
Therefor,
my
poster
board
was
ruined.
But,
I
did
overcome
that
obstacle
by
creating
this
binder
full
of
Madison’s
time
sheets
that
are
detailed
from
every
calorie
she
burned,
to
her
heart
rate.
There
is
a
lot
of
information
I
have
learned
during
this
project.
My
research
paper
helped
me
a
lot
with
the
medical
and
background
information
of
psychology.
I
learned
that
working
out
at
least
30
minutes
a
day
lowers
your
risk
of
developing
Alzheimer’s,
as
you
get
older.
I
also
learned
that
Buddhist
Monks
were
the
first
to
study
how
physical
fitness
benefits
the
brain.

3. During
this
project,
I
have
realized
that
this
subject
is
not
for
me.
You
had
to
be
a
very
flexible
person
with
the
times
to
meet,
and
you
had
to
have
a
lot
of
patience.
I
do
not
have
any
of
those.
At
all.
My
advice
to
the
upcoming
seniors
would
to
be
chose
your
topic
wisely.
Don’t
try
to
pick
something
easy
and
something
you
do
not
like.
Trust
me,
it
is
very
hard
to
work
on
this
the
whole
year.
I
would
also
advise
not
to
procrastinate
all
year.
Like
my
mother
has
always
told
me,
a
little
goes
a
long
way.
Do
a
little
each
day,
and
you
will
get
done
a
lot
quicker.
For
my
future
plans,
I
have
decided
to
attend
Valdosta
State
University
and
go
into
Pre-­‐Pharmacy
and
graduate
with
my
Masters
degree
moving
forward
to
my
Doctorate
degree.
Thank
you.
Are
there
any
questions?